Avandia, once the most-used diabetes pill on the planet, was all but finished. After concerns emerged that it might cause heart attacks, the Food and Drug Administration in 2010 put severe restrictions on Avandia, forcing doctors and patients to register and fill out paperwork to show they understood the risks. The number of patients taking Avandia in the U.S. rapidly fell from 120,000 to 3,000.
Now a panel of advisers to the FDA says that the restrictions should be eased so more patients can get the drug despite still unproven risks. An overabundance of caution can hurt patients, argued Rebecca Killion, a patient who served on the 26-member panel.